01 Sep 2021
CA3 on Due Process, Language Barriers: B.C. v. Atty. Gen.
"We hold that B.C. was denied due process because the IJ did not conduct an adequate initial evaluation of whether an interpreter was needed and took no action even after the language barrier became apparent. Those failures resulted in a muddled record and appear to have impermissibly colored the agency’s adverse credibility determination. We therefore vacate the BIA’s decisions and remand for a new hearing on the merits of B.C.’s claims. On remand, the agency must also remedy other errors B.C. has identified, which include dealing with the corroborative evidence he submitted."
[Hats off to Benjamin J. Hooper, Arthur N. Read, Sozi P. Tulante (argued) and many amici!]
